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r/indianapolis•
CBusin

Making a day trip to your city for the first time this Saturday...

So the wife and I have never been to Indy before and decided to make a day trip there this coming Saturday from Columbus Ohio. I've been browsing through the side bar and recent posts and found a lot of helpful info as far as food, coffee for her (Calvin Fletcher's) and beer for me. I know in Columbus, there are a growing number of markets/stores where you find a wealth of bottled local craft brews and was wondering where the best ones in Indy are? We're not too big on shopping but any interesting shops, whether just odd stuff or locally made items that you know are very uniquely Indianapolis.

I would love to check out the skywalk and the artsgardens there.

I've decided to check out Fountain Square and Massachusetts Avenue for sure. But I was also wondering about some just odd things around that could be easy to miss with a google search.

Really any suggestions would be awesome.

Posted Feb 23, 2016, 2:03 AM UTC

917
JLLIndy•

I would suggest lunch at the City Market.

6
CBusinOP•

I did notice a few often mentioned names there so that is a must. I know I saw Three Carrots mentioned for vegan which the wife is basically vegetarian because she doesn't like meat so that would be great for her. Thanks!

2
Backno•

Also if you want beer while you are there, the Tomlinson Tap Room is upstairs with nothing but Indiana beer.

3
JLLIndy•

You may want to check Facebook/Twitter for hours at the stands you're hunting about. I'm not sure how busy it is or how many of the stands are open on Saturday.

2
willumzegerman•

Mike Square Coffee also just opened a little cafe kiosk at City Market. A great local roaster with an excellent product. Nice for an after lunch espresso.

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MayoralCandidateCastleton•

Curious what you mean by 'skywalk'. If you're referring to the system of skywalks that connect various building downtown, you're going to be quite underwhelmed. They're literally just sky bridges so you can go from your hotel to the convention center and mall without going outside.

Not to burst your bubble again, but I wouldn't go out of your way to check out the Artsgarden, either. It's impressive outside, but inside is just a big empty event space where homeless people chill.

Check out Atomic Duckpin Bowling in Fountain Square for a unique experience. Depending the weather, I'd highly recommend taking a walk down the canal for breathtaking views of the skyline (nearly all pictures of the skyline were taken somewhere along the canal).

If you want food unique to Indy/Indiana, you have to get a breaded pork tenderloin. My personal favorite is Edward's Drive-In (people from the west side would dispute this and suggest Mug-N-Bun), but if you'll be in Fountain Square, the tenderloin at Peppy's Grill is amazing too.

Oh, and don't forget Monument Circle, the literal center of the city. It's especially cool at night when it's lit up. Have fun, I love my hometown and hope you enjoy it!

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mattgrieserFountain Square•

Check out Silver in the City and/or Homespun and/or People for Urban Progress and/or United State of Indiana for some uniquely Indianapolis shopping.

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upyoursgustafson•

For beer (fyi we don't allow carry out liquor sales on Sunday):

Crown Liquors on Delaware St

Big Red Liquors on Pennsylvania St

Kahn's Fine Wine on Keystone Ave

Fountain Square and Mass Ave offer a lot from fine dining to cocktail lounges. If you are in the mood for Mexican, I suggest La Margarita (great food and great beer selection). If you are looking for more traditional food, The Tap offers a wide variety of options and has close to 100 draft lines.

Cheers!

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JillyfromHoboken•

I second Kahn's for the insane beer selection

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CBusinOP•

All of those look great and exactly what I was looking for. And is La Margarita more Tex-Mex or authentic? Not that I frown on Tex-Mex, both are delicious, I was just wondering.

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kissme008aj•

honestly I dont dislike La Marg but I would not suggest it to someone coming from out of town. I would go to La Revelucion first but I guess thats preference. More authentic tacos where La Marg (to me) is the avg Mexican joint.

My fav brewery is Black Acre bc they have amazing food.

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Vince1820•

The beer selection is an even bigger reason to hit it up. If you want to do something cool in fountain square check out New Day Meadery before going to La Margarita. You can have some mead on tap and they also have charcuterie plates. just a good spot to hang out for a minute and try a drink you might not normally have.

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upyoursgustafson•

Definitely authentic.

0
TheRealSpaceTrout•

Breweries check out flat12 or sun king

Carry out check out the big red liquors downtown.

Macnivens on mass Ave has a great draft list. The tap and the eagle are new places that look pretty good.

Fountain square brewing is great. Tons of stuff over there too. LA Margarita has great food and beer.

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Vince1820•

saturday looks like it might be decently nice (~51). If the suns out you should definitely do some walking. The canal is a really great walk and if its nice out there will be vendors out selling drinks and small food. there's also a burger joint down there where you could grab a beer. Also, you can walk around with drinks. So if you're at a bar and you're ready to go ask for a to-go cup.

Mass ave - there are a lot of cool stores there. locally made stuff, clothing/leather goods/toys/housewares.

If you wanted to go to a brewery I would suggest checking out Flat 12. The beer is good, they almost always have food there and right across the street is The Smoking Goose. They are something else...smoked meats and whatnot. they make some incredible stuff and get national attention for what their doing. definitely worth checking them out. From there if you wanted to just check out something funky, Midlands Antiques is nearby (maybe 3/4 mile). It will give you a whole new appreciation for antique stores. not everything there is an antique and if you walked in with only $10 I can bet you'd find something you'd like to take home with you.

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joeyscheidrolltide•

Rathskeller is always a favorite of mine when I go back home to Indy

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LAW9960•

I'd suggest Santorini's Greek Kitchen in Fountain Square for supper.

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